1. Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph. How I Learned to Drive is a narrative, set primarily in Maryland, that follows the experiences of Lil’ Bit as she gets older; specifically, those regarding her sexual relationship with her Uncle Peck over the course of seven years (from 1962-1969). The majority of the play jumps around in time, recounting memories and relevant experiences that provide background for the dynamic between her and her Uncle.
2. What is the intrusion? The seven-year period during which Lil’ Bit’s abuse took place (the stasis of the play) is disrupted on her eighteenth birthday when she breaks things off with Peck. Lil’ Bit has been away at college and slowly drops out of contact with her uncle. As Peck continues to send her gifts and letters counting down to her birthday, which marks the age of legal consent, Lil’ Bit realizes what Peck’s true intentions have been all along. In ending the abusive relationship, Lil’ Bit decides to take control of her life in an attempt to move on. Their split causes Uncle Peck to start drinking again, which ultimately leads to his death, and leaves Lil’ Bit with the disturbed retrospection that she (now age 35) describes in the final scene.
3. What is the unique factor? This is the day that she decides to tell her story.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play? One of the main questions that arises over the course of the play is “does she continue the relationship or does she cut it off with her Uncle Peck?” Achieving some clarity within the refuge of college, Lil’ Bit has cut things off with her Uncle, effectively answering the ultimate dramatic question towards the end of the play.
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it. An example of the first type of exposition (information that all or most of the characters know) is that Peck is Lil’ Bit’s uncle. How I learned to Drive contains many illustrations of the second type of exposition (that one or few of the characters know). One example would be Aunt Mary’s monologue where she reveals her knowledge of her husband’s abusive habits towards Lil’ Bit. Another major example occurs during the scene where Peck teaches Cousin Bobby how to fish. During this scene, it becomes alarmingly clear to the audience that Lil’ Bit is not the only child that Peck has sexually abused.
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be. I think that the most theatrical moment of the play is when Lil’ Bit meets Peck in a hotel room in the days following her 18th birthday in order to break things off. During this scene, all of the characters cohesively create a heavy sense of chaos, confliction, and tension. Initially, their conversation jumps around a lot as she and her uncle awkwardly totter between small talk and significant conversation. The awkward tension between the two is emphasized by a clear disparity between Lil’ Bit’s and Peck’s mental state/ expectations/ perspectives. As the dialogue continues, we see Lil’ Bit struggle to say what she came to say (to finally tell Peck “no”) in the midst of Peck’s manipulative desperation. Then, the Greek chorus joins in, narrating Lil’ Bit’s inner turmoil with short, quick lines. Their alternating interjections amp up the pace of the scene, amplifying the chaos/tension and the suspense within the audience. And suddenly, the pace comes to a screeching halt, creating a relative silence in which Peck says he wants to marry her, shocking the audience.
7. List some of the themes of the play. Some of the major themes in How I Learned to Drive are manipulation, the cyclical nature of sexual abuse, survival, growth into independence, lasting effects of trauma, pedophilia, and alcoholism.
8. Choose the character of Li'l Bit in the show and articulate what she wants and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of her getting what she wants? In How I Learned to Drive, Lil’ Bit, from the opening scenes, expresses a desperate desire to be taken seriously and not sexualized in a derogatory, joking way. However, at every turn there is someone making her a “Mary-Jane” joke. For example, in response to Lil’ Bit expressing her desire to get a higher education (specifically to study Shakespeare), her grandfather asks over the dinner table ‘how Shakespeare is going to help her in life/ lie on her back in the dark’. The initial scene of the family dinner, the family nicknames, her middle school experiences (a boy grabbing her breast and being harassed in the locker room) all made Lil’ Bit’s body and sexuality a source of embarrassment and shame. Essentially, throughout the play, Lil’ Bit struggles against various characters who constantly invalidate her with crude comments and sexual harassments. From this desire to be taken seriously and sexual insecurity stems Lil’ Bits dependence on her Uncle Peck. While Peck sexualizes Lil’ Bit as much as the other characters, he masks it with manipulation and grooming. Essentially, he makes her feel valid and coddles her in order to get what he wants. However, Lil’ Bit is in constant inner-conflict; while she puts up with his abuse and wants the validation/ attention, she also points out that what they’re doing is wrong and frequently brings up his wife while they are together. Essentially, she battles against herself in a state of perpetual conflict: part of her depending on him for attention/ validation and the other part that knows that it’s wrong/ is traumatized by the abuse. In the end, while she overcomes her internal conflict, cutting things off with Uncle Peck, she is left with the residual trauma, which she still has not overcome many years later.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play. The lessons in which she learned to drive are closely interwoven, if not directly linked, to her sexually abusive relationship with her Uncle Peck. Not only did the sexual aspect of their relationship begin and develop within the driving lessons, but the act of ‘learning how to drive’ becomes an innuendo for sexual abuse. In their first driving lesson, he asks her if she wants to drive, and she responds that she can’t. He tells her that he learned to drive at around her age. She declares that “it’s against the law at [her] age” to which Peck responds that that why she can’t tell anyone what they’re doing. This coded conversation reveals to the audience that Uncle Peck was abused sexually when he was Lil’ Bits age and solidifies ‘learning how to drive’ as a symbol for pedophilic, sexual abuse. Another symbol that arises within the play is the Cadillac El Dorado that Uncle Peck buys for/to share with Lil’ Bit. By this point, Lil’ Bit sees Peck’s ulterior motives and recognizes that he has been waiting for her to reach the legal age of consent. He even says “I always wanted to get a Cadillac- but I thought, Peck, wait until Lil’ Bit’s old enough- and thought maybe you’d like to drive it too”. Essentially, the car becomes a symbol of Peck’s long-term goal to be with Lil’ Bit.
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play. I think that the concept of ‘family relationships’ becomes a really grey area. The characters, especially Uncle Peck, push the boundaries of ‘love’ past familial, abusing his position in Lil’ Bit’s life. Essentially, How I Learned to Drive, examines the violation of the boundaries of a familial relationship.
How I Learned to Drive is a narrative, set primarily in Maryland, that follows the experiences of Lil’ Bit as she gets older; specifically, those regarding her sexual relationship with her Uncle Peck over the course of seven years (from 1962-1969). The majority of the play jumps around in time, recounting memories and relevant experiences that provide background for the dynamic between her and her Uncle.
2. What is the intrusion?
The seven-year period during which Lil’ Bit’s abuse took place (the stasis of the play) is disrupted on her eighteenth birthday when she breaks things off with Peck. Lil’ Bit has been away at college and slowly drops out of contact with her uncle. As Peck continues to send her gifts and letters counting down to her birthday, which marks the age of legal consent, Lil’ Bit realizes what Peck’s true intentions have been all along. In ending the abusive relationship, Lil’ Bit decides to take control of her life in an attempt to move on. Their split causes Uncle Peck to start drinking again, which ultimately leads to his death, and leaves Lil’ Bit with the disturbed retrospection that she (now age 35) describes in the final scene.
3. What is the unique factor?
This is the day that she decides to tell her story.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
One of the main questions that arises over the course of the play is “does she continue the relationship or does she cut it off with her Uncle Peck?” Achieving some clarity within the refuge of college, Lil’ Bit has cut things off with her Uncle, effectively answering the ultimate dramatic question towards the end of the play.
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
An example of the first type of exposition (information that all or most of the characters know) is that Peck is Lil’ Bit’s uncle.
How I learned to Drive contains many illustrations of the second type of exposition (that one or few of the characters know). One example would be Aunt Mary’s monologue where she reveals her knowledge of her husband’s abusive habits towards Lil’ Bit. Another major example occurs during the scene where Peck teaches Cousin Bobby how to fish. During this scene, it becomes alarmingly clear to the audience that Lil’ Bit is not the only child that Peck has sexually abused.
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
I think that the most theatrical moment of the play is when Lil’ Bit meets Peck in a hotel room in the days following her 18th birthday in order to break things off. During this scene, all of the characters cohesively create a heavy sense of chaos, confliction, and tension. Initially, their conversation jumps around a lot as she and her uncle awkwardly totter between small talk and significant conversation. The awkward tension between the two is emphasized by a clear disparity between Lil’ Bit’s and Peck’s mental state/ expectations/ perspectives. As the dialogue continues, we see Lil’ Bit struggle to say what she came to say (to finally tell Peck “no”) in the midst of Peck’s manipulative desperation. Then, the Greek chorus joins in, narrating Lil’ Bit’s inner turmoil with short, quick lines. Their alternating interjections amp up the pace of the scene, amplifying the chaos/tension and the suspense within the audience. And suddenly, the pace comes to a screeching halt, creating a relative silence in which Peck says he wants to marry her, shocking the audience.
7. List some of the themes of the play.
Some of the major themes in How I Learned to Drive are manipulation, the cyclical nature of sexual abuse, survival, growth into independence, lasting effects of trauma, pedophilia, and alcoholism.
8. Choose the character of Li'l Bit in the show and articulate what she wants and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of her getting what she wants?
In How I Learned to Drive, Lil’ Bit, from the opening scenes, expresses a desperate desire to be taken seriously and not sexualized in a derogatory, joking way. However, at every turn there is someone making her a “Mary-Jane” joke. For example, in response to Lil’ Bit expressing her desire to get a higher education (specifically to study Shakespeare), her grandfather asks over the dinner table ‘how Shakespeare is going to help her in life/ lie on her back in the dark’. The initial scene of the family dinner, the family nicknames, her middle school experiences (a boy grabbing her breast and being harassed in the locker room) all made Lil’ Bit’s body and sexuality a source of embarrassment and shame. Essentially, throughout the play, Lil’ Bit struggles against various characters who constantly invalidate her with crude comments and sexual harassments.
From this desire to be taken seriously and sexual insecurity stems Lil’ Bits dependence on her Uncle Peck. While Peck sexualizes Lil’ Bit as much as the other characters, he masks it with manipulation and grooming. Essentially, he makes her feel valid and coddles her in order to get what he wants. However, Lil’ Bit is in constant inner-conflict; while she puts up with his abuse and wants the validation/ attention, she also points out that what they’re doing is wrong and frequently brings up his wife while they are together. Essentially, she battles against herself in a state of perpetual conflict: part of her depending on him for attention/ validation and the other part that knows that it’s wrong/ is traumatized by the abuse. In the end, while she overcomes her internal conflict, cutting things off with Uncle Peck, she is left with the residual trauma, which she still has not overcome many years later.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
The lessons in which she learned to drive are closely interwoven, if not directly linked, to her sexually abusive relationship with her Uncle Peck. Not only did the sexual aspect of their relationship begin and develop within the driving lessons, but the act of ‘learning how to drive’ becomes an innuendo for sexual abuse. In their first driving lesson, he asks her if she wants to drive, and she responds that she can’t. He tells her that he learned to drive at around her age. She declares that “it’s against the law at [her] age” to which Peck responds that that why she can’t tell anyone what they’re doing. This coded conversation reveals to the audience that Uncle Peck was abused sexually when he was Lil’ Bits age and solidifies ‘learning how to drive’ as a symbol for pedophilic, sexual abuse.
Another symbol that arises within the play is the Cadillac El Dorado that Uncle Peck buys for/to share with Lil’ Bit. By this point, Lil’ Bit sees Peck’s ulterior motives and recognizes that he has been waiting for her to reach the legal age of consent. He even says “I always wanted to get a Cadillac- but I thought, Peck, wait until Lil’ Bit’s old enough- and thought maybe you’d like to drive it too”. Essentially, the car becomes a symbol of Peck’s long-term goal to be with Lil’ Bit.
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
I think that the concept of ‘family relationships’ becomes a really grey area. The characters, especially Uncle Peck, push the boundaries of ‘love’ past familial, abusing his position in Lil’ Bit’s life. Essentially, How I Learned to Drive, examines the violation of the boundaries of a familial relationship.